How many calories would you suggest?

Voca_Star
Voca_Star Posts: 140
in Health and Weight Loss
Hi. I'm 18 years old, 5'3" and my weight fluctuates from 138 - 140. For the last few months (since May) I've been eating between 1400 - 1600 calories and doing 35 - 45 minutes of cardio, burning between 250 - 400 calories. Last week I added strength training, 2-3 days a week. Actually, a circuit routine with strength and cardio exercises, that lasts an hour.

MFP tells me to eat 1500 calories, before I log my exercise. After I log my exercise, it's between 1750 - 1900 calories. I tried to eat about 1800 last week but I didn't lose anything from it.

I used this site: http://scoobysworkshop.com/calorie-calculator/ to get a guess on how many calories I should eat and it says about 1800 - 1900 but I think that's too much for me to lose weight on. I've tried everything from 800 - 1500 calories and haven't had much results. I was 151 last December, got down to 134 by May (after several plateaus) and I went back up a bit and I haven't budged a pound since.

I don't know how many calories to eat. On top of exercising 6 days a week, I occasionally walk outside, do chores, and/or play my Wii sports games. I'm trying so hard to get lean and fit by next summer for an event. Any help?

Replies

  • Voca_Star
    Voca_Star Posts: 140
    Bumppp :(
  • Hendrix7
    Hendrix7 Posts: 1,903 Member
    both the calculators you used gave you the same answer 1700-1900.
    I tried to eat about 1800 last week but I didn't lose anything from it.

    you really need to stick to something for much longer than a week to see if it is working for you. try a month to begin with.
  • DL717
    DL717 Posts: 31
    ^^^^^ This. :)
  • ScottCadi
    ScottCadi Posts: 56
    both the calculators you used gave you the same answer 1700-1900.
    I tried to eat about 1800 last week but I didn't lose anything from it.

    you really need to stick to something for much longer than a week to see if it is working for you. try a month to begin with.

    Hendrix is right.... it has to be consistent for a longer duration. What you may want to do is use your resting metabolism rate, cut about 300-400, NO MORE than 500 calories/day. Do NOT eat your exercise calories unless you are feeling ill from under eating. I also highly recommend working on increasing your protein intake. My wife switched from her carb lifestyle to a protein rich one, and has finally gotten off of a 7 year plateau. She is now only 10 lbs from her target weight.

    We are both being very successful with one primary change--- try to eat 20 grams of protein for breakfast, with less than 5 grams of carbs. It isn't for everyone, but it is recommended by both our doctor and a certified Master's degree nutritionist.

    Hope this helps!!!
  • TurtleRunnerNC
    TurtleRunnerNC Posts: 751 Member
    Sounds about right. Give it more time. I am 5'3'' & 131lbs. I am eating TDEE-15% (about 1525) & only eat back exercise calories if my NET dips below my BMR. If it does I eat enough back to bring my Net up to BMR. Otherwise it's 1525 & I'm done.

    I am losing..... not quickly but I only have about 10lbs to go so that is expected.
  • tatebos
    tatebos Posts: 29 Member
    Based on my own weight loss it looks like you are eating (1400-1600) and exercising about right for weight loss at your age. If you burn more than 500 calories in a day from exercise, you probably should add 100-200 high protein calories back into your food for that day. Try this for at least 1 month and see what happens. If you are still not losing (by losing I mean about 1 pound a week,) bump your calories up for 1 week and then go back down again. Sometimes it is just a matter of rebooting your metabolism. At the weight you are at weight loss is going to be slow and you need to be patient, even 1/2 a pound per week is still weight loss. You will get there, but if you want to stay there you need to do it the right way. Slow and steady wins the race! Good Luck!!
  • flsl
    flsl Posts: 75 Member
    When I was on a plateau I tried cutting certain foods out altogether as it seemed to me to be impossible to lose much while eating them.

    For instance I cut out almost all bread for a month, and it seemed to help. Other peoples advice about eating protein instead of carbs ties in with this.

    I also tried to eat one low carb meal a day: ie soup or salads for lunch with some protein, like chicken or fish. Then a good evening meal coupled with protein for breakfast.

    Finally,, the hardest was to give up all sweet things and my lattes/cappucinos, and just eat 'real food'. I know many people can lose weight and have their daily treats, but some of us are not so lucky. It did help me.

    Re exercise. Ironically too much exercise for me seems to slow down my metabolism. Not enough is the same. Feeling a little bit tired the next day is a good sign, and also dont be afraid to take rest days to let your body repair.
  • Voca_Star
    Voca_Star Posts: 140
    bumpp :(
  • Voca_Star
    Voca_Star Posts: 140
    So should I eat 1700-1900?
  • NWCountryGal
    NWCountryGal Posts: 1,992 Member
    Just posted this for another gal with the same question. Hope it helps you understand. It is hard and I have really struggled but after a lot of research I have a way more clear understanding of the whole process of losing weight in a healthy manner.

    I've used any of the suggested calculators and some vary but not by much that I've found anyway.

    Once you have your TDEE(total daily energy expenditure) which is the amount you would eat to maintain the same weight, you want to subtract maybe 20%. So you have that deficit which will cause you to lose weight at a speed of .5 - 2 lbs. per week. I hear different stories on this and it seems 20% is most recommended. One pound equals 3500 calories so if you want to lose 1 lb per week, then you would eat 500 calories less then your TDEE. I just read this today and am understanding better and better.

    500 calories less a day and in 7 days (7 X 500 = 3500) you should lose one lb. Now to me, eating 1000 calories under my TDEE(in order to lose 2 lbs in one week) is just too much in my opinion, for me ok? Not saying for anyone else, but the more I understand about this whole thing, the more I realize slower weightloss is healthier weightloss, IMO.

    Feel welcome to look at this link below, I think it is the best but also, the one below that may help you as well:

    http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/654536-in-place-of-a-road-map-2-0-revised-7-2-12

    http://www.acaloriecounter.com/diet/calorie-deficit-to-lose-weight/

    Let me know if I can help, I am new at this but doing quite a bit of study on it and trying some things out:) denise
  • autumnk921
    autumnk921 Posts: 1,374 Member
    So should I eat 1700-1900?

    As much as you are exercising I would definitely go with 1900 - Make sure to eat this amount every day - even on rest days & if you go NET below your BMR then you would need to eat more to get at least to BMR. You seem to workout quite a bit and your body needs the fuel to do this. Just keep at it for at least 6-8wks like others said above. You won't notice any difference in a week b/c you need to give your body time to adjust to it. Be consistent and most of all have patience. Best of luck to you.:flowerforyou:
  • Voca_Star
    Voca_Star Posts: 140
    bumpples
  • Voca_Star
    Voca_Star Posts: 140
    Thank you for that. My TDEE is about 2500 according to this site: http://www.iifym.com/tdee-calculator
    So I'll eat 2000, burn 250 - 400 with exercise, give it a month, keep an eye on my measurements and see how it goes :)

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